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More than 250 manufacturing leaders from across the United States, Mexico and Canada came to Washington, D.C., for the North American Manufacturing Conference, hosted by the NAM in partnership with the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico. 

• The leaders met with policymakers from all three countries to discuss the importance of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement—the most pro-U.S. manufacturing trade agreement in history—supporting millions of manufacturing jobs in the United States.  

The opening address: In his speech opening the conference, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said, “The people in this room today—leaders of industry, associations, governments—we all share a commitment to drive the strength of manufacturing. That is the blueprint to secure manufacturing dominance.”  

• “Manufacturers in the U.S. share the president’s vision to make the United States the best place in the world to make things—including through a signature trade agreement of his first term—a strategic and transformative act that ties the U.S., Canada and Mexico even more closely together: the USMCA,” he continued.
• “Manufacturers were proud to support the USMCA every step of the way, from the framing of the agreement, to its historic, bipartisan and record-setting vote in Congress, to the transformation of our shop floors.”
• “And we kept our promises. We moved billions of dollars of investment and shifted supply chains away from our strategic competitors to our own backyard.”

The conversation: In their discussions, conference attendees highlighted the unique regional advantages of the North American co-production model across manufacturing from semiconductor fabrication and aerospace to automobiles, chemicals and industrial electronics. 

• Manufacturing executives also shared their vision for how the agreement could help the U.S. achieve its long-term goal of securing energy dominance and access to reliable critical mineral supply chains. 

NAM Board chair: “As the largest company in the world dedicated to industrial automation, Rockwell works to support America’s industrial leadership—and the USMCA is indispensable not only to the work we do but also to the innovation our customers drive every single day,” said Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO and NAM Board Chair Blake Moret.

• “We have seen how increased trade with our closest neighbors has bolstered supply chains, increased efficiency and empowered manufacturers to invest in America with confidence. Under this agreement, we’ve increased the competitiveness of American manufacturing and strengthened our trading relationships with our neighbors. Today’s conference is a celebration of the progress we’ve made—and can continue to make—under this agreement.”

The bottom line: “Certainty means you know the rules of the game. Competitiveness means you know you’ve got a winning hand. The USMCA is both,” Timmons said.

• “Let’s strengthen it. Let’s lead with it. And with smart improvements, let’s double down on an investment that works.” 

Dive deeper: Earlier this week, the NAM issued a new report, “Built to Spec: USMCA Supports Millions of American Jobs and Drives U.S. Manufacturing Dominance,” highlighting the importance of the agreement to manufacturing investment and job creation.

• For an overview, check out the NAM’s one-pager on the USMCA here.

NAM in the news: In an interview from the Rotunda at the Russell Senate Office Building, Timmons spoke with NewsNation’s Blake Burman on “The Hill,” highlighting how the USMCA has helped shift manufacturing investment and supply chains away from China and back to North America.

• “One of the ways that the president very successfully addressed China’s way of doing business was the USMCA trade agreement that he negotiated in 2019,” Timmons said, adding that the agreement “has made a tremendous difference on where manufacturers invest and hire. And instead of in China, they’re doing that in North America right now. And oftentimes that’s right here in the United States.”
• Timmons also highlighted the strength of the U.S. relationship between Canada and Mexico ahead of the USMCA review process, saying he hopes “we build on that so that we can add even more manufacturing, jobs and investment here in the United States.”